Share this story

Pearl Brashears lives on the leaky Rosedale neighborhood street and reached out to Eyewitness News on Monday for help.

"I watched it get a little bigger and bigger, and called the California Water Co. They came out, put up a barrier and did nothing,” said Brashears.

She said she called CalWater three times, and even though they responded to her calls each time, the water continued to run up from under the asphalt, getting bigger by the day and tracking dirt and mud along the sidewalks.

"Dirt was bubbling up from underneath it, so I was afraid it would become a sinkhole or worse,” said Brashears.

Residents say their biggest concern was how long it took for CalWater to respond to their calls, and that the water should not have been left to run for almost 10 days.

"I called (Eyewitness News) this morning, and (CalWater officials) were here within hours,” said Brashaer.

CalWater said it had been out to check the leak multiple times, but it is company protocol to prioritize work on water leaks on a major-to-minor issue basis.

"In this case, the leak was assessed, and it was determined to be a minor leak and was scheduled for another day,” said Tamara Johnson, the assistant district manager for CalWater.

CalWater has since fixed the leak and the water is no longer running down the street. Temporary asphalt has been placed over the repaired waterlines, and the company has already contacted a contractor to permanently set asphalt down within the next two to four weeks.